[NCC] WRTC2014 Team Village Sponsorship Program

[tleek8az]

Warriors,

Please see email from K1DG, below.

Last year NCC members raised $2,000 to support the WRTC-2014 Tent Program.
 This year, additional funds are being requested.  We'll discuss this at
the January meeting.

73,
Tom, K8AZ

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Grant [mailto:dougk1dg at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 3:40 PM
Subject: WRTC2014 Team Village Sponsorship Program

This note is being sent to the leaders of U.S. Contest clubs. If you are no
longer the right person to receive this, please forward as appropriate.

As you know, WRTC2014 will be held next July in the Boston area. This is
the first WRTC in the U.S. since 1996, and we want to make the event as
successful as possible in every way. You have probably been following our
efforts to make the competition as even as possible, through site tests
conducted during the IARU contests in 2012 and 2013. We believe that all
teams will have an equal chance to win...no team will have a disadvantaged
(or advantaged) site.

In October we announced the Teams. Unlike past WRTC events, every U.S.
call area is represented this time. This week we announced the slate of
on-site referees who will insure that all teams obey the rules and play
fair. Perhaps a member of your club was named as a referee.

The funding for WRTC2014 is coming from a mix of donations and advertising.
Unlike many past WRTC events, we do not have any government funding or the
backing of a large corporation. We have done well with our fundraising but
still have a long way to go.

We first approached the contest clubs of the world to sponsor the tents
from which the teams will operate. We were able to fully subscribe that
program - all 65 tents (for the 59 teams plus 6 spares) at $1000 each. Some
clubs sponsored more than one tent. The list of sponsoring U.S. clubs is
shown below:

    Florida Contest Group ( 5 )
    Frankford Radio Club ( 4 )
    Potomac Valley Radio Club ( 4 )
    Yankee Clipper Contest Club ( 4 )
    Northern California Contest Club ( 3 )
    Central Texas DX and Contest Club ( 2 )
    Mad River Radio Club ( 2 )
    North Coast Contesters ( 2 )
    Society of Midwest Contesters ( 2 )
    Alabama Contest Group ( 1 )
    Arizona Outlaws Contest Club ( 1 )
    Grand Mesa Contesters of Colorado ( 1 )
    Minnesota Wireless Association ( 1 )
    Pacific Northwest DX Clubs ( 1 )
    South East Contest Club ( 1 )
    Twin City DX Association ( 1 )
    Tennessee Contest Group ( 1 )

In addition, several clubs and groups of individuals honored these past
contesters whose keys are now silent with Memorial Tents:

I2UIY, K2GL , K5KA, KC1F, KL7FH, KL7Y, N4TO, N6ND, N6ZZ, P43JB, W1BIH,
W1CW, K4OJ,  W2AX,  W2PV, W3ZZ, W4AI/ZD8J, W4AN, W5ZL and all past Florida
Contest Group Silent Keys (as a group).

The Tent Sponsorship Program helped fund the purchase of equipment for the
teams, including the towers, beams, rotators, dipoles, generators, tables,
chairs, and yes, of course, tents.  Overall, our fundraising is going well,
but we still have a long way to go with less than 7 months left until the
Opening Ceremony.

A few months ago, WRTC2014 started a new fundraising program for
clubs...the Team Village Sponsorships. This is intended to help us cover
the cost of housing and meals for the 118 competitors, 59 referees, and
judging staff who will attend this event as is customary at WRTC (a total
of 100 or so rooms for a week). As you can imagine, funding the Team
Village is very expensive. Our headquarters hotel is the Doubletree by
Hilton in Westborough, MA, about 30 miles west of Boston, and
centrally-located amid our station sites.

The Team Village, like the usual Olympic Village, is the focal point for
social interactions among the participants, sharing meals, taking
photographs together, and enjoying each other's company before and after
the contest. This is where friendships among contesters from around the
world will be made and renewed, and memories created. Most past
participants in WRTCs have remembered the week spent socializing with
fellow contesters even more than the actual contest.

The following clubs have already stepped up and contributed $1000 to
sponsor a room at the Team Village:

    Yankee Clipper Contest Club ( 3 )
    Southern California Contest Club ( 2 )
    Bavarian Contest Club ( 1 )
    Contest Club Ontario ( 1 )
    DFW (Texas) Contest Group ( 1 )
    Buzz Reeves K2GL Memorial (1)

I am asking you to ask your club to consider sponsoring a room at the Team
Village. We will try to assign your sponsored room to the team or referee
representing your area on a first-come, first-served basis. If your club
funds multiple rooms, we will try to honor specific requests.

Some clubs funded their Tent Sponsorships by encouraging donations from
individual members and then matching them with club funds. That allowed
members to get the benefit of the tax deduction available and lowered the
impact on the club's treasury. We are happy to track Team Village
Sponsorship donations by a club's members and inform the club of the total
to be matched. If your club can get 20 members to donate
$25 each, and match it from the club's treasury, that would do the job. We
can accept checks (payable to WRTC2014, Inc., and mailed to PO Box 444,
Hanover NH 03755) or PayPal contributions ( donations at wrtc2014.org  or use
the button on our Web site). Individual donors will receive a receipt
letter for tax purposes. WRTC2014, Inc.
is an IRS-recognized 501(c) (3) organization and donations are
tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers. We can also accept large donations in
the form of stock, bonds, or mutual funds (there are tax advantages to the
donor).

Please pass this note along to your club's membership and encourage them to
help us make the WRTC2014 event memorable for everyone. This will be the
first WRTC in the U.S. since 1996, and we want to make it the best. With
your club's help, we can make it happen.

73,

Doug K1DG
Chairman, WRTC2014, Inc.
www.wrtc2014.org